Minerals:  Smoky Quartz
Locality: Erongo Mountains, Erongo Region, Namibia
Dimensions:  166mm x 50mm x 50mm (approx)
Weight: 295g
Provenance: ex. Mala Haslem Collection

This is an exceptional large smoky quartz from the Erongo Mountains, with an unusually deep, nearly black colour, with strong parallel growth and a complex gathering of penetrating crystals around the base.

Dark smoky quartz from Erongo is not inherently rare, and availability has varied considerably over the years, but specimens of this scale and quality remain much harder to encounter. At 166mm tall this crystal has substantial presence in hand, with a long clean profile, sharply defined termination and remarkably dense colour through the body.

The lower section is particularly complex. Several smaller crystals penetrate and intersect the main growth, creating a strongly developed cluster rather than a simple single point. This type of penetrating secondary growth is something we have seen far less often in later Erongo material, and it gives the specimen more structure and interest around the base.

Across the surface there's a pale patch of hyalite opal fluoresces bright green under UV light. We've handled hundreds of Erongo smoky quartz specimens over the years, and this remains one of the bestexamples for its combination of size, colour, proportion, penetrating growth and overall complexity.